SAFIRE is challenging the status quo in clinical research, where women in the first trimester of pregnancy have traditionally been excluded, leaving critical evidence and treatment gaps for malaria in pregnancy. To help make a trial like SAFIRE possible, researchers like Adélaïde Compaoré (Anthropologist at the Clinical Research Unit of Nanoro, CRUN/IRSS, Burkina Faso) are carrying out ongoing social and implementation research to inform trial design and identify culturally appropriate strategies for recruitment and retention throughout the study. This work supports SAFIRE’s aim to generate evidence on antimalarial medicines for women in the first trimester of pregnancy and can also inform future initiatives to make clinical trials more inclusive for pregnant women.
To mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we sat down with Adélaïde to discuss her work, how it aligns with SAFIRE, and how having more women in science can benefit malaria research. Here’s what she had to say.
What area of malaria R&D are you working on right now? What’s your ‘big question’?
I am working on the SAFIRE project as a social scientist to assess the acceptability and feasibility of recruiting women of childbearing age and pregnant women into antimalarial clinical trials. My big question is: How can malaria interventions in pregnancy be designed and implemented in ways that are culturally appropriate and trusted by communities?
What drew you to malaria research?
I was drawn to malaria research because of its complexity and the urgent need to find solutions. Despite the existence of tools and multiple interventions, malaria continues to kill children. This persistence reveals the deep social, cultural, and structural challenges that biomedical solutions alone cannot solve. My work seeks to bridge science with community realities so interventions become trusted, effective, and sustainable.
Why is malaria so difficult to overcome, and why does it take global collaboration to make progress?
Malaria is difficult to defeat because community resilience is weak: people remain exposed to mosquito bites, livelihood pressures and fragile housing structures deepen vulnerability, and resistance to drugs and insecticides undermines progress. Cultural norms also shape how communities perceive and adopt interventions. These challenges are interconnected, and only global collaboration, combining biomedical innovation, socioanthropological insight, and community engagement, can deliver solutions that last.
Finish the sentence: “If we get this right, it will…”
If we succeed, it will allow women and children to be healthier, reducing mortality and improving quality of life. This will also lessen the economic impact of malaria in low- and middle-income countries, freeing families and health systems from the heavy burden of disease and enabling communities to thrive.
Why is it so important to have more women in science and how could this benefit malaria research?
In addition to closing the gender gap, having more women in science brings diverse perspectives that enrich research questions and strengthen the analysis of findings. In malaria and pregnancy research, women scientists often bring sensitivity that helps engage communities more effectively, especially where cultural norms shape participation and trust.